


Stress Relief

by CaptainParisStarr



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: First Time, M/M, Semi-Public Sex, pwp ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:47:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26763058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainParisStarr/pseuds/CaptainParisStarr
Summary: While on a hunting trip, Merlin goes over a cliff with Arthur. Though neither are harmed in the fall, they take the time to tend to one another's needs before rejoining the hunting party.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 80





	Stress Relief

Merlin was never quite certain what had happened; one moment, he was following close behind Arthur as they chased down a wild pheasant during a hunt; the next, they were tumbling down the side of a small cliff, into a shallow ravine below.

“Arthur?” The fall was enough to knock the air from his lungs, yet the landing soft enough to avoid injury, as the ravine was padded with fallen leaves with the changing of the seasons from summer into winter.

“Over here.” Though the sun was bright in the sky, the base of the cliff was drenched in shadows, and he was blinded by the sudden darkness; maybe that is why he groped for Arthur’s hand, only to accidentally kiss him instead.

Or maybe Arthur had planned it that way from the beginning. He never did learn which it was.

“Sorry!” He pulled back, and hit the underside of the cliff, which towered overhead at an angle that blocked them from view, at least from the side the rest of the hunting party was on.

“Shut up, Merlin!” There was never any question that the second kiss was deliberate; a rough invasion of lips and tongue that left Merlin breathless and wanting more.

His attraction to the young Once-And-Future-King was his best kept secret; but somehow Arthur himself must have found out, for he did not hesitate to not only ravish Merlin’s mouth, but to explore every inch of his body, his hands restless until they found the laces that held Merlin’s pants closed.

As they broke for air, Merlin could do nothing but pant, his eyes heavy lidded with need, his limbs unwilling to release their grasp on Arthur. He was incapable of speech at that moment, even if there had been something he wanted to say, though there was not.

“Me too.” Arthur breathed the words out, moving one of Merlin’s hands from his shoulder to the front of his own pants.

Merlin could only nod, his nimble fingers already at work undoing the knots.

“He can’t have gone far! Split up and search the area!” Sir Leon’s voice drifted down, and Merlin froze, his hand already inside Arthur’s pants, touching him in a way he had never believed he would be allowed to. 

“The knights!” Merlin’s fear broke his paralysis; if they were caught, he would surely be executed or; at best; banished. He was male, Arthur was promised to another, and there was no way to explain what they were doing without revealing that Arthur had deviant desires, as did he himself.

“They won’t find us that quickly; there are enough landslides off of that cliff to distract the men from our path, and the path down into the ravine proper will take a quarter of an hour to navigate, at best. We have time, though not for everything I want to do to you.” Arthur’s mouth latched onto Merlin’s throat, biting and sucking, but stopping just shy of leaving a mark. Then his hand slid into Merlin’s pants, and the Warlock once again forgot how to think.

Again and again, their lips met, and their hips began to move in sync as they caressed flesh forbidden to them because they were both male. Shafts were tugged out of pants to bump and slide against one another, eliciting startled moans from the men, and hands shifted to caress them together, as one.

“Arthur…”

“Merlin, nothing needs to be said.”

“I’m close.”

“As am I. Together?”

“Yes, together.”

Merlin’s head fell back, his breath coming in heavy pants, and as he released in time with Arthur, his eyes flashed gold, and petals began to fall all around them.

Then arms encircled him, pulling him against a strong, mail clad chest, and it was all he could do just to breathe.

“Was that your first time? Not by your own hand, I mean.”

“No, it wasn’t. But I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been touched by another.” Merlin twisted around and planted a feather soft kiss onto Arthur’s lips. “It was the most mind blowing encounter though.”

A soft, almost tender smile graced Arthur’s lips. “Same. Merlin, you need to keep this secret.”

“Who would I tell? If anyone thinks I seduced you, I would face execution. Men cannot like other men, not in any of the Five Kingdoms.”

“I’d never let anyone execute you.”

“Your only other option would be banishment. You know that. I won’t tell anyone; you need me by your side.” Merlin suddenly frowned. “What about your soon to be wife? How does she fit into this?”

“I can perform as needed with a woman in the marriage bed, but no woman will ever fully win me, heart, body, and soul. I prefer men, a preference that, for the reasons you just described, can never become common knowledge.” 

Merlin had never seen Arthur look so forlorn as he did then, using a handkerchief to clean them back up, and help Merlin to pull his pants back up. “What is this then?”

“Stress relief.” Arthur winked at him.   
  


“Stress relief?”

“Yes. Being me is hard, stressful work. Sometimes I need something extra to unwind; and sometimes I will need that late at night, with no one else any the wiser. Think you can do that for me? I have scented oils, and I promise not to do anything that will hurt you.”

Merlin’s heart leapt into his throat; Arthur was asking him to be his illicit lover; his paramour; a highly immoral position to claim, and one that would mean death if they were discovered.

Of course, Merlin was no stranger to courting danger, and he winked back. “You can summon me at any hour, and I will be there.”

“Good.” He had just finished lacing his pants back up when Sir Leon appeared from around a rock; their time was up.

“Sire, Merlin! Are you both unharmed?”

“Yes; we took a wrong turn and tumbled down the cliff. I hit my hip against a rock; Merlin was tending the injury for me, and he says I’m only bruised and will heal in a few days.” Arthur feigned a limp, and as they returned to Camelot, none of the men were wise to what happened, and none caught Merlin as he slipped into Arthur’s chambers late that night, and slid into his bed wearing nothing but his skin.

**Author's Note:**

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